In Their Own Words:Women Many-Time CIM FinishersPo Adams (16)Carol Dellinger (19)Sandra Hatcher (19)Christine Iwahashi (20)Theresa McCourt (11)(Theresa ran CIM 1984-1991, 1993, and 2006.) Sally Monical (17) |
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 Fastest Course in the West! |
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| Po Adams: 17-Time CIM Finisher CIM Board Member Emeritus Below are a few words about Me and the CIM. I read my running log of that day, December 4, 1983..... and noted that there was a terrible rainstorm the day before (Yes, I still keep my logs of many, many years..........28). CIM turned out cold in the AM, but sunny and clear. |
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Po at the finish of the 1985 CIM.
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Po following her finish at the 2004 Suzuki Rock n' Roll Marathon.
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Carol Dellinger: 19-Time CIM Finisher Why did you start running? |
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What was your early training like as compared to how you train today? |
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| Sandra Hatcher: 19-Time CIM Finisher Why did you start running? Did you encounter any obstacles to your running? Like friends or family, discouraging you, no women's shoes or clothes, etc. What was your early training like as compared to how you train today? |
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When did you first consider running a marathon? What was your first marathon and what was it like? When did you run your first CIM? How was it? What changes have you seen at the CIM over the years related to women's running? Anything else you can think of? Rich Hanna is also a local hero. He is inspirational to all runners. As I became somewhat complacent running by myself in my daily routine, he introduced me to running friends and provided a varied training schedule. This stimulated me to love running again. I am forever grateful. |
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| Christine Iwahashi: 20-Time CIM Finisher Why did you start running? |
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| What was your first marathon? Paul Masson, 1980 What was your first marathon like? VERY long! I trained, very specifically, for the two weeks. I ran a 20 miler two weeks out and a 26 miler one week out. When did you run your first CIM and how was it? First CIM - 1985??? Or something like that? It was a PR, I started training with the Buffalo Chips Running Club about 8 weeks prior to it. What changes have you seen at the CIM over the years related to women's running? It's been fun to see the increase in women running CIM and the overall encouragement and support for the distaff. Anything else you can think of? The world of marathoning, and CIM, has become less intimidating and friendlier. While the distance hasn't changed, the increase in the number of people understanding the dedication and rewards of marathoning has a positive impact on the sport. |
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| Chirs on her way to a 3:11 CIM finish in 2002. In 2005, at age 50, Chris ran a 3:12 CIM, 8th best 50-54 woman's time. She holds the top local woman's time for 1986 (2:49:12 and 1990 (2:45:29). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Why did you start running? I really started exercising first, not running. I was 21, and had met someone who's still very dear to me who exercised just about everyday--doing weights, situps, and stretching. I came from England and had no idea what he was doing because in the environment I grew up in England, no one "exercised." I thought what he was doing was very odd--but it intrigued me, too. I should say that as a kid, my favorite thing was to run around the playground, play chase, but when the teen years came around, well, peer pressure got me feeling embarrassed about my desire to still play chase! By the time I came to America, I was overweight. My friend, however, was slim--and somehow I made the connection that what he was doing was healthy--and perhaps if I did it, too, I might lose some weight. After two years, just doing weights six days a week, I had lost the extra weight--without even reducing my food intake. And then a friend and I started "jogging." I could go barely five minutes the first time I went out--and it took a long time for me to get my breath even--and not feel like a chump out on the street! After I could run up to 3 miles, I did that every other day around McKinley Park in Sacramento for about a year. Then at the old, original Fleet Feet store, owned by Sally Edwards, I saw a flyer about a women's group running on Mondays at 5:30. I showed up one evening--and was utterly shocked when a woman behind the counter said, "Oh no, it's not an evening run. We start at 5:30 in the morning!" Heck, in England at that time, nothing started before 9 a.m. |
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| Theresa McCourt, 1986; Theresa holds the 1993 CIM top local woman's time (2:56:49). Her best CIM time was 2:50:10 in 1990, the year Chris Iwahashi ran 2:45:29. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joining that group led to a big change. The group consisted of young women like me (in my low twenties) up to women who were over 60 years old. Some of them were triathletes, several had run lots of marathons, and though all of that was foreign to me at first, I became very curious, and so gradually found myelf stretching my limits. On that first run with them, though, I ran my farthest ever--seven miles--and was exhausted. But when I got back home, I said in utter amazement to my husband, "We ran SEVEN miles, and afterwards that Sally Edwards lady even raked the lawn in front of her store!" That anyone could do another chore after that "distance" just amazed me. I really credit those women--Sally Edwards, Joan Reiss, Karen Coe and many more--with being wonderful role models for what women could really achieve. They were older than I was, but were really some of the pioneers of running. They grew up in a world where sports were definitely not encouraged--and yet they became record holders as grown women. Did you encounter any obstacles to your running? Like friends or family discouraging you? As a kid, when I liked to play chase, play street soccer with my big brother and his friends, my mom definitely couldn't understand it. To give her much credit though, she was really stringent about her kids going to college--even though she left school at 14 in Ireland. However, she was never sports-oriented--and often bemoaned me returning home from play with my clothes covered with mud. But I did have an Irish grandma who played Lacrosse-and even went to college--and she seemed to eminate, without ever saying, that woman could be strong. Here in America, I met no obstacles. In the early eighties, America seemed far ahead of England when it came to women's sports. My husband and everyone around me were very supportive. When did you first consider running a marathon? Partly, the idea grew in me because of running in that first group--and hearing the women talk about the various races they'd run recently--including marathons. And partly, it came about because I happened to be on Capitol Mall when the inaugural CIM was taking place--and I remember Laurie Binder running by--and I could hear people saying "Wow, there goes Laurie Binder!" I'd never heard of her, but she was running very, very fast in my view. She looked so strong--and even smiled out there! I could hear people telling others like me about her: As I remember it anyway, she was a masters runner (in her forties I think) and I was hearing things such as "She used to smoke 20 cigerettes a day" and "She was a nurse--and smoked--and started running late in life." Back then, you didn't see too many women, never mind a forty-something woman, doing things like this. I can remember standing on the sidewalk, hearing this stuff, watching her race by, giving out smiles, looking so fresh even though she had only about a mile to go, and thinking, "I want to do that!" Another influence, after that, was the 1984 Olympic Marathon in LA--the first one ever for women. For twenty and thirty-somethings now, they probably cannot comprehend the effect that first Olympic women's marathon had on teenage girls and twenty-somethings. To watch Joan Benoit coming through that tunnel into the stadium, with her baseball hat turned backwards, her baggy singlet and shorts, and even she seeing herself on the huge TV in the stadium, the crowd going utterly crazy, with no one close enough behind her to give a challenge, I can remember standing up in my living room and yelling at the TV--cheering too. It was a wonderful moment. I think her win that day spurred many women after that. Seemed like that was the start of a whole bunch of women starting to run. What was your first marathon? Ha! The second CIM (1984) of course! |
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| What was your first marathon like? I was incredibly lucky that day. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, clear blue sky, temps reasonable. And I felt great from start to finish. But I do have to say, that from the day I saw Laurie Binder to my first marathon--I essentially started training for the second CIM. In a sense I trained for a year on a base of already having made running a habit, even if my longest run at the time I saw Laurie, was just seven miles at that point. I worked up gradually and sensibly to the longer runs necessary for a marathon. When I look back now, I think for a young twenty-something, I was pretty darn sensible in my training! Also, I had good mentors--experienced marathoners who gave me excellent advice. For instance, I can't even remember his last name now, but there was a wonderful older man, whom I only rembember now as "Red," who had run many marathons and gave very pithy advice. One of his statements has particularly stayed with me--and I really believe in it: "At the start of a marathon, you should be feeling as if you're going too slowly. If you don't feel that, you're running too fast!" Back in those days, I actually mostly felt that many male runners wanted to help the women who were just starting out. |
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| Theresa McCourt (#112), 2006! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When did you run your first CIM and how was it? See above. The 1984 CIM was my first marathon ever! I ran 3:14! What changes have you seen at the CIM over the years related to women's running? So many more women--a huge amount it seems--now run. I read somewhere, but maybe I'm remembering wrong--that now more women are running marathons than men! I love that! I know how many wonderful changes running has brought to my life: Many great friends, incredible conversations over the years with girlfriends as we run along the bike trail, a whole community of which I still feel very much a part. A healthy lifestyle. And a sense of self-esteem. Whenever I meet a woman who wants to try running, has just started, I just go right into cheer mode for her--because if she keeps up with it, it will really change her life! There are so many divergent wonders that occur from the discipline of doing it--and from the enjoyment of doing it! I really consider running a good friend these days--after about 25 years of doing it. I know I could lose it one day, maybe tomorrow, maybe years from now--not be able to run again--and I will utterly miss it. If I live to be 80 years old--and see someone running on the road--and I'm not able to do the same thing--I'll always feel a pang of loss. Even now, when I race, I have this poignant feeling--knowing I'm aging and that who's to say what my last race might be. That it could be the very one I'm racing in at that moment. Anything else you can think of? I have a six-year-old boy now, and I really believe that if I hadn't been running all these years, didn't still run, I definitely would have a hard time keeping up with him. But as it is, I'm enormously grateful that I can kick a ball around with him, chase him across a park, have the physical energy to participate in his life as much as I do. However, because of him and my desire to stay healthy for him (as well as myself) for as long as possible, I am a bit more cautious as a runner now. I have rest days between runs--run only 3 to 4 days a week. My body needs more recovery time--and I want to be able to do lots of things with him for as long as I can. And finally, I guess just a big thank you to the universe, to the Sacramento running community, to CIM, for allowing and supporting something as wonderfully positive as running. |
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Sally Monical: 17-Time CIM FinisherWhy did you start running?I started running to keep a high state of fitness for skiing and bicycling stamina, mental health, and maintaining a healthy body weight. I was also training wheelchair athletes and they kept me "on the run." Did you encounter any obstacles to your running? Like friends or family, discouraging you? No. Not friends and family, but many acquaintances would like to comment on how extreme it seemed to them and question whether I was "crazy" or not. That has changed through the years, as many have become fat and dysfunctional while I stay active and energetic. My family has always been very supportive. My children grew up cheering from the side lines and since have become distance runners. I had the exceptional experience of running the Boston Marathon with my son and my daughter. I have inspired my sister-in-laws to run marathons. |
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| What was your training like - did you find many "like-minded" friends to run with? There are two questions here. What my training was like and training with friends. My training has always been carefully thought out with scheduled progressions in distance and speed mixed with cycling. I carefully keep my training an enjoyable experience and look forward to it. As far as "like-minded" friends, I did not team up with anyone for many years. My running is solitary and it is nice quiet contemplation. I run with my dog who has always been a great listener, but as the years went by I led a few training groups that spawned lots of running buddies. When did you first consider running a marathon? I first considered running a marathon when my kids were babies and found it a curious feat. I had friends that had completed marathons in the late 70's (men) and just thought it was something I could do and wanted to try. What was your first marathon? What was your first marathon like? My first marathon was the Davis marathon in the early 80s. It was flat, repetitive and boring, yet very satisfying to complete. It was an exhilarating experience to go through the mental struggles, understand the psychology behind it and match thoughts with physical exertion. I found that the perception of pain and discomfort was different when I would dwell on it compared to the times that I was absorbing the cheers and encouragement from people on the side lines. This spectator attention was something that I had never experienced before. People I had never met before were telling me "good job" and "keep going." It was a great feeling no matter how tired I felt. It was a test psychologically and physically to measure my training effort. It inspired me to tweak my training plan and try again. When did you run your first CIM and how was it? I can't remember exactly which was my first CIM, but somewhere between the 3rd to 5th running of the CIM and I missed somewhere between 2-3 between then and now. Otherwise I have run every one except those few since the 1st one I ran. My first CIM was my 2nd marathon and the experience was much better. I love the cool weather of the CIM and the course. I adjusted my training according to how the Davis Marathon felt and how well I recovered and had a great time with the new test of training and psychological mind set. What changes have you seen at the CIM over the years related to women's running? The biggest changes I have seen are the numbers and the variety of participating women. The level of competition is fierce and exciting. Watching the women get faster and become more recognized and celebrated for athleticisim is inspiring. I have noticed women who have little or no movement experience take on the challenge whether at a fast pace walk or a slow pace jog and the level of comraderie, mutual support, body and mind awareness, and confidence in what can be accomplished amoung these women has opened up a wonderful world of the "I can." I have helped some of these women train for the marathon and witnessed a level of confidence emerge with definite explanations such as; "If I can do this I can do anything." Those are quite powerful words. It's great! Anything else you can think of? Just how well I recovered from my last long run and how I will vie against my comrades and fellow competitors within my age group. It's great fun. |
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